Tutorial: Kitchen Cupboard Hardware - French Country Handles and Knobs

French Country Kitchens may not be as popular as they once were but I still love the style.  In fact, I'm REALLY thinking about updating my Brooke Tucker Kitchen in a more modern country style...(doesn't everyone renovate their dollhouse displays???)...but I digress.   Here is a tutorial for making drawer pulls and knobs that would be great for French Country but also, any style.  The upper cabinet knobs are supposed to simulate those “bird cage” style popular with French Country (handles or knobs with a hollow basket look). It's so hard to find nice hardware that doesn't look manufactured - that's why I like to make my own.  Also I think it can be more delicate and scaled when made from scratch.

 Drawer Pulls

Supplies:

• 
  Fine wire, about 24 gauge
• Scrap wood about 1/16^th or 1/18^th inch thick (wire bending jig)
• Straight pins or sequin pins (for wire bending jig)
• Seed beads, a couple different sizes
• Eye-pins from commercial drawer pulls (such as Houseworks #1124 Batwing pulls)
• Hand drill and Wire drill bits to fit your wire and eye pins
• Wire cutters
• Spray paint (and acrylic paint same color for touch ups)
  
• Super glue

First, make a bending jig with pins and the wood scrap, drilling holes using the pin vise (hand drill) and tiny drill bits.  You can see the measurements and spacing of the pins from the photo.

Cut the wire into small lengths – about 2” long and wrap around the pins to make the “U” shape (narrower spaced pins face down in these photos and form the bottom of the "U".  Thread on beads in a pattern you like.  I put one larger seed bead in the center with two smaller seed beads on each side (for a more hollow "birdcage" style use a filigree bead in the center and flatten it to more of a tube shape first).

Glue these in place with super glue.  Then glue on the two eye pins as in the photos.  Finally glue on the upper beads that will hold the eye pins in place.  DON’T CUT WIRE YET.

Spray paint this assembly and let dry.  Then cut the wire just beyond the upper beads.  You will touch up the cut off wire after gluing them to your cupboards.

Drill holes in your drawers to match the spacing of the eye pins.  CAREFULLY Glue the eye pins in with super glue (they may fall off easily because they are very thin).  Then use acrylic paint to touch up the cut off wires.

“Bird Cage” cupboard knobs

Supplies:

• Metal filigree beads, 4mm (I used Darice brand)
• small crimp beads – about 1.3mm inner diameter
  
• brass head pins
• Spray Paint
• Super Glue
  
• Hand drill and Wire drill bits to match your head pins

These are very simple.  Just thread a filigree bead onto the head pin followed by the crimp bead.  Glue with super glue and let dry.  Spray paint and cut off the wire.  Drill a hole and glue in.

Here is a photo of the kitchen I used these in. 

The kitchen cabinets in the photo above were kits from B. H. Miniatures (I think)?  Upper cabinet doors were backed with nylon netting that I spray painted black (to look like chicken wire).  I faced the drawers with molding (might have been door/window trim).  The stove was a workshop I taught some years ago (2008?).  The counter tops are just printed photos of granite glued to illustration board and glossed with Mod Podge.  I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!  I will stew over what to post next month.  It may be simple since my daughter is getting married right before the time when I usually make my monthly blog post!

Faux Carving (Method 2!) - Embellished Lower Kitchen Cabinets

This is the fourth in a series of blogs describing a kitchen project.  The first blog started in March (click the archive link at the side to go back). Two blogs ago, I shared a method of simulating carving using nail jewels, wood scraps and hand fan blades (for link click here). In this blog I will share my favorite technique for faux-finishing – using embossed gold foil shapes to simulate carving.

Before I get to the cabinet doors, I want to make mention of another (similar) embellishment technique – metal stampings (like jewelry findings).  The fluted posts shown with the lower cabinets are actually laser cut wood.  They were provided with the kitchen kits. Here is what they looked like before adding the jewelry finding and faux finish:

Brass finding for embellishment

I cut the metal finding apart then glued the pieces on then faux finished them in antique pine as was done for the upper cabinets in the previous blog.  You can find these by searching Ebay for "victorian brass stamping".  See the photo below for "after" faux finish.  This idea was inspired by Sandra Manring's kitchen (see her full kitchen photo in this blog post)

Now for the foil paper embellishment technique.  The lower cabinets are non-functional.  The project kit included a backing board which I painted a pale green (photo above).  The wooden trim pieces and finished doors were glued to the backing board.  The entire board was not glued in but I made it to fit tightly so it could be removed to hide the wiring (a later blog).

The laser cut doors and drawers had an etched center frame.  I removed a tiny sliver – a couple of layers of paper – from the inner frame to give it a little depth.

After removing the layers just in the etched crack, I burnished it with the edge of a cardboard – so it would be a little smoother when painted.

This is my favorite embellishment hint – foil applique’s!  The gold foil shapes are called “Dresden foil”.  I cut them apart and used small pieces to fit into the inner rectangle of the doors.  The very narrow foil trim strips (bottom of photo below) I mitered and used around the center rectangle.  On the narrow ‘drawers’ I just used the narrow trim.

Supplies Used:
Gold foil appliques - "Dresden Foil" (Ebay, Etsy)
Gesso base coat - white
Light base coat acrylic paint (Americana Hauser Green mixed with white)
Darker color for glaze (Americana Hauser Green)
Plaid/Folk Art (brand) Extender - allows mixing paints without drying out quickly
Small paintbrush, preferably the width of the door frames

After gluing on the foil, the next steps are shown in photo below, but to summarize:

• Base coat over the foil and cardboard with Gesso
• Base coat over the Gesso with light green (same color used for the base that the doors will be glued to)
• Glaze with a darker green mixed with “Extender” letting it puddle in the carved areas and wiping off the higher areas with a paper towel.

Let dry – extender takes a while and stays tacky for a while.

Finished cupboard doors.

Across the bottom of the cabinet base I put a narrow strip for a “toe kick” painted the same light green base coat.

Below is a photo of the finished doors with the wood trim pieces mentioned before. The area below the sink would later be covered with a skirt.  Green may not be everyone’s cup of tea for a kitchen but I happen to love the green/lavender combination!

Next month  I will cover some of the lighting I used in this project.  You can't see it in the photo but the entire lower front cabinet section is a removable panel (one piece).  Behind this panel I hid the wiring and 9 volt battery for the lights.  See you next month!

Faux Antique Pine Kitchen Cabinets - Paint Technique

Continued from the previous blog where we left off having primed the embellished cabinet doors with Gesso...Above is a photo of what the cabinets will look like at the end of this post.

The antique pine finish is made with acrylic paint and an "antiquing glaze" product which is usually sold in the same type/size bottles as the acrylic bottled paint.  Look for antiquing glaze products in the same aisle (with the paint) in Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

Here is another look at the finish I was trying to mimic.  This is a clipping from a magazine of an antique pine dish cupboard.  At the bottom of the photo are my trials in paint base coats.  At the bottom right is a laser cut decorative piece that was provided in the kit for embellishing the lower cabinets (future blog post):

So to continue with the faux paint technique, you will need:

400 grit sandpaper
Base Coat acrylic paint (I used a mixture of Maple Sugar and Desert Sand)
Plaid (brand) "Antiquing Medium" - Cocoa Bean (or any of the dark browns)
Ceramcoat (brand) Burnt Sienna
Plaid/Folk Art (brand) "Extender" - allows mixing paints without drying out quickly
Small, flat paintbrush, preferably the width of the door frames

Sanding - After the gesso was dry (last blog post), sand just a little on the flat areas using 400 grit sandpaper.

Pine Base Coat - I needed a base ‘pine’ color, like a yellow or tan.  I experimented with both Maple Sugar and Desert Sand and both seemed good.  I ended up using a little of both – not entirely blending them together but using a little of each here and there as a base coat.  Base coat the entire cupboard door.

Glaze – I practiced a lot on scraps of wood.  See photo below.  This was a lot of trial and error mixing the glaze product with a dark reddish brown (Burnt Sienna) and "extender", trying to get it so it was thin enough to flow and easily wipe off.  The practice piece with 'carving' (actually a scrap of laser cut fan blade) has dark splotches where I was trying to make 'knot holes'.  You can kind of see the different base coat colors under the glaze streaks.  Practice on a paper plate then something similar to your doors.

On the actual cupboard doors, I glazed sections at a time.  First one of the vertical frame sections then the other vertical then the horizontal. I dipped my paintbrush in a tiny amount of each of antiquing glaze and burnt sienna.  I then dipped the brush in a little of the extender and brushed back and forth on a palette (actually the flat area between the little dips in the plastic paint pan).

This diluted glaze mixture I brushed over the faux carved area and the flat areas of the mat board in long strokes with the “grain” (vertically on the cabinet door).  After lightly covering one side of the cupboard door, I then dragged the brush up and down (flat area only) making sort of a wood grain.  Then I just touched the end of the brush bristles sort of making a dotted design (like a knot or branch) here and there.  The extender makes it easier to go over it a few times until it looks like wood. 

When finished with one area of the cabinet door, move to the other vertical surface then do the horizontal frames.

It’s hard to explain the technique but I practiced a lot on paper plates before actually doing the cabinet doors to get a look I liked.  Here is an up close look at the doors.

When the cabinet faces were done, I did the edges of the doors and the edges of the window openings.  Then do the cabinet sides, bottom and tops trying again to use the brush to make streaks like wood look and knot holes (if you are ambitious!)
Here is a photo of the bottom of one of the cabinets (where I was cutting a hole for the wiring).  You can see the streaks of the wood grain. You can also see two different base coat colors where I changed my mind (but it was under the cabinet so I didn't attempt to fix it!)

I didn’t use any kind of top coat or varnish after painting and glazing because I wanted a sort of ‘dry wood’ look like the unfinished pine antiques I have seen.

That's it for the faux pine look.  Next blog we will embellish the lower cabinets using one of my favorite 'faux carving' techniques - to be revealed soon!

Mini Kitchen - Cabinet Doors - Faux Carved Embellishments

My goal for this kitchen project was to simulate the finish in the photo above, an antique French pine look. The photo is a magazine clipping of a cabinet.  Below the photo are my trial and error paint attempts to mimic the French pine colors. (paint finish will be covered in the next blog).  What is harder to see in the photo are the carved trim details.

In this blog I will explain how I embellished the cabinet doors to look like faux carving using pieces of wood, a fan blade and nail jewels.

You will need:
Cabinet doors to embellish
laser cut oriental hand fan blades
Half round trim – such as dollhouse chair rail molding (small piece)
Tiny nail jewels in different shapes
Coffee stirrers or thin scrap wood, about 1/16th or 1/32nd inch thick
Tools (X-Acto knife, wood glue or white glue, razor saw and miter box to cut molding)
Gesso paint primer
Emery board or sanding stick

Fan Blade Trim
The cabinet doors for the project were one piece, not separated in the middle.  I didn’t cut them apart and just glued the trim across the entire top.  The trim is a single blade from an oriental hand fan – these are sometimes sold as wedding favors and made of sandalwood.  Try the oriental grocery stores or gift shops or on Ebay.

Laser cut fretwork hand fan - used one blade for trim

1. First, separate one blade from the fan - there will be an almost invisible knot of clear thread holding the blades together.  Just gently slide your #11 pointed knife blade under the knot and cut it.  There may be two knots.
2. Cut the fan down the middle lengthwise to get two pieces that are mirror images (photo below).  Press the X-acto knife along the middle – don’t drag it.  If you drag the knife across the fretwork the small pieces will break.
3. You may have to trim off some of the border also.  It won’t be exactly square but you are only using part of the design, that won’t be noticeable.  Use a straight edge and your X-Acto to trim the border (area with no fretwork).

4.  Glue fretwork trim across top of doors.  Use tiny little dots of glue on the fretwork so it doesn’t seep into the open spaces. Let it dry.  Trim any that extends above the door with scissors or X-acto knife.

Tiny dots of glue on back of fretwork

Corner Trim
You will use these pieces: piece of coffee stirrer, piece of half-round (or chair rail), nail jewels.

1. Cut the half round trim into small pieces wide enough to match the width of the cabinet frame.
2. Cut the coffee stirrers into small pieces, about 5/8 inch long.  Round two corners as in the photo.
3. Glue the half round to the top end of the rounded coffee stirrer piece.
4. Glue on the nail jewels like the photo.  Glue the stack at the top corners of the door frame below the fretwork (photo below).
5. When dry, base coat the entire piece with Gesso to prep for the faux paint technique.

Next time I will describe how to create the faux antique pine paint effect.  Here is a preview of what the cardboard cabinet doors look like after the faux finish.